The first official meeting of Denver's newly seated Board of Education was intended to be a private session with a clinical psychologist, but the retreat is now open to the public.

The board will meet this morning at the Broadmoor hotel in Colorado Springs, in advance of this weekend's annual convention of the Colorado Association of School Boards.

Denver's board is holding its own retreat before the convention to discuss board relations, policy governance, theory of action, core beliefs, district goals and the Denver Plan.

Part of the meeting will be facilitated by a renowned marital therapist who also is skilled at helping organizations.

The board allowed access to the retreat after a legal challenge by The Denver Post under the Colorado Open Meetings Law.

Today's gathering follows Monday's dramatic board meeting, in which members voted on controversial reform plans and newly elected board member Andrea Merida took her oath of office before a district judge hours ahead of her scheduled swearing-in ceremony.

The move allowed Merida to vote on the reforms, but it ousted longtime board member Michelle Moss on the last day of her term.

Board members say the retreat and visit with the therapist will allow them to develop a better working relationship.

Weeks after the board's fall retreat, it was decided to contract for the $2,400 session with therapist Susan Heitler. But the focus switched from team building and leadership after the contentious Monday meeting, board member Theresa Peña said.

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"After Monday, we were thinking: 'There is some tension. How do we approach this? How we learn to work together,' " Peña said. "I think this board is very united on the single most important thing we need to do, and that is raise student achievement."

Attending the CASB convention at the luxe Broadmoor is its own source of tension for the board.

Although members are offered reduced rates for rooms at the hotel, some have questioned whether it makes sense to attend conventions at a time when K-12 budgets are being cut statewide.

Denver, for example, will likely have to cut $25 million from its budget this year. Jefferson County is cutting $18 million to $20 million a year over the next three years.

The weekend conference features informational sessions, developmental workshops and speakers who are designed to help boards — including a session about cutting budgets, CASB spokesman Brad Stauffer said.

"We think there are some things they can learn here that can help them deal with the difficult times and help them govern their school districts in the way they can manage through these budget cuts so that is less impactful on students," Stauffer said.

Registration for the entire three-day convention is $330, which includes breakfasts and lunches. Lodging at the hotel for board members ranges from $150 to $238 per room. Board members staying the entire session can expect to pay up to $1,000 for registration, meals and lodging.

This year, 152 districts are sending 1,003 people, a few more than last year, Stauffer said.

Former Denver board member Moss said the CASB sessions are helpful but the appearance may be troubling.

"Board members need professional development, but the appearance in Denver, when we are talking about cutting $20 million, it's not pretty," she said.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.